US vetoes UN resolution condemning all violence against civilians in Israel-Hamas war
Published:Wednesday | October 18, 2023 | 3:11 PM
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution Wednesday to condemn all violence against civilians in the Israel-Hamas war and to urge humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, saying it was too early to craft an appropriate Security Council response to the crisis.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the council needs to allow current diplomatic efforts, including by President Joe Biden, to unfold and to find out more facts on the ground first. She also criticised the measure for failing to underline Israel's right to self-defence.
The resolution sponsored by Brazil had wide support and would have condemned all violence against civilians, including “the heinous terrorists attacks by Hamas” against Israel.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 votes in favour and the US against, with Russia and Britain abstaining.
Thomas-Greenfield said that Biden was in the region engaging in diplomacy hoping to protect civilians, secure the release of hostage, and prevent the conflict from spreading. “We need to let that diplomacy play out,” she said.
She said the Security Council must speak out, but should be “informed by facts on the ground and support direct diplomacy efforts that can save lives -- the council needs to get this right.”
The American ambassador criticised the resolution for not saying anything about Israel's right to self-defence following Hamas' surprise October 7 attacks that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.
Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 3,500 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 12,000 wounded.
Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward also criticised the resolution's failure to mention Israel's right to self-defence.
The voting and debate followed Tuesday's huge explosion and fire at a Gaza City hospital packed with patients, relatives and Palestinians seeking shelter, in which the hospital said hundreds of people died.
Hamas said it was from an Israeli airstrike, while Israel blamed a misfired rocket by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. Islamic Jihad denied any involvement
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